I used to do Mom’s taxes, for the last few years of her life. Charlie did our taxes, but I did Per Bastet’s the way Mom taught me and I did my writing income records the way she taught me.
This year, I was kind of scared, because I had never done OUR taxes before, and I didn’t know how Charlie did them. I finally gave up and did them the way Mom taught me to, probably the way most people do: Documents and proofs of payment separated into Contributions, Taxes, Business Income and Expenses, Rental Income and Expenses, and Income.
So I took my papers to the tax guy and he called me to ask a question. And he said:
Thank you for your organization; it makes my job much easier.
I was so proud! Mom would have been proud of me, too. That makes me happier than you can ever know.
This post is part of Linda G. HillÂ’s weekly blog hop, One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner or just like them, follow the link.
A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: Someone does something the way they were taught by a relative who has passed and has happy results.
MA
acflory
April 7, 2021 at 7:27amI think your Mum and Charlie would be incredibly proud of you. -hugs-
Marian Allen
April 7, 2021 at 9:26amMom would have, but not Charlie. The way Mom (and I) do things isn’t the way he did things. That’s why I had trouble at first, trying to figure out his method. I know it made good sense, but not to me. Like, I used to oversee a guy who had a reputation for not being the sharpest crayon in the box. Then I found out that if I could explain things in a way that made sense to HIM instead of continuing to use a way that made sense to ME, he was brilliant. Figuring out how to communicate between brain languages was the best time I ever spent.
acflory
April 7, 2021 at 8:13pmNo, Charlie probably wouldn’t approve of your /method/ but he’d applaud you for getting the job done. You’ve stayed strong and kept all the family balls in the air. You’ve become the ‘Mamma Pappa’. I think he’d be cheering you on regardless of which method you used. -hugs-
Marian Allen
April 8, 2021 at 8:18am-hugs- You couldn’t have said anything that would make me happier. Thank you, my dear friend. -hugs-
acflory
April 8, 2021 at 11:53pmHuge hugs back, Marian. I always felt as if I knew Charlie a bit, from your writing. Just wish I’d known him better.
Marian Allen
April 9, 2021 at 8:31amHe probably felt like he knew you a bit, too. When I said, “Meeka says…,” he knew who I meant, because I said it so often. 🙂
acflory
April 9, 2021 at 8:51amThank you! That makes me happy. I knew Charlie was a /good/ person when he fell in love with that tiny kitten. Daisy? I think we all felt his pain when she died. And the things he made for Tipper and Chickie… -huge hugs-
Marian Allen
April 9, 2021 at 9:00amYes, Daisy. That was a real turning point in his life. He really began showing his vulnerability after that. He had always shown it to me, but he felt like he needed to look strong for the kids, even though they were grown-ups. It just goes to show that we never stop developing and evolving unless we deliberately stunt ourselves.
acflory
April 9, 2021 at 5:17pmMy Dad was much the same. He was quite a bit older than Charlie, so not of the same generation, but I only saw him cry once in my entire life – when he got the news his father had died. We left Hungary at the end of 1956 [just after it became obvious the revolution was about to be squashed] and Dad never saw his father again.
I’m so glad Charlie got the chance to be vulnerable. For all the hurt, Daisy was a gift.
Marian Allen
April 10, 2021 at 8:11amShe certainly was. How can something that tiny enrich two lives in such a short time? But she did. <3
acflory
April 10, 2021 at 7:46pmI remember getting a huge lump in my throat when you posted that Daisy had died. She touched a lot of people.
Marian Allen
April 11, 2021 at 9:19am<3
Dan Antion
April 7, 2021 at 8:56amIt sounds like she would have good reason to be proud. Charlie, too.
Marian Allen
April 7, 2021 at 9:26amCharlie would have been frustrated that I didn’t organize things the way HE would, but he would have been proud that I did a good job. 🙂
Dan Antion
April 7, 2021 at 9:38amWe have always used a hybrid system. The Editor organizes throughout the year. I do the taxes.
Marian Allen
April 7, 2021 at 9:48amI like that system. Make sure you each know what the other does. I hate to be the specter at the feast, but….
Dan Antion
April 7, 2021 at 9:50amShe’s luckier than I am. If something happens to me, she can always take her well organized stuff to a preparer. If something happens to her, I’ll be in deep…um, paper.
Marian Allen
April 7, 2021 at 9:55amHUGS
Ally Bean
April 7, 2021 at 9:01amBut here’s my question: did you literally have real pieces of paper you organized OR was this on a computer screen somewhere? I have yet to understand how to use a computer to keep track of finances.
Marian Allen
April 7, 2021 at 9:32amI printed out a spread sheet of income and expenses totals by category, with a second sheet detailing the exact expenditures and money received (this much in donations, next page which places we gave donations to), with actual pieces of paper proving that we gave X dollars to X charity. I’ve started a spreadsheet to keep track of my finances; Charlie used to use an old green grid Accounting spreadsheet that he filled out in pencil. What I like about the computer spreadsheet is that I can set up a formula at the bottom of a column to keep a running total. Mom used to keep one of those on her computer, and I had to learn how to do it for her when she forgot how. It comforted her for me to hand her a printout now and then.
Ally Bean
April 7, 2021 at 10:13amI’m not comfortable enough with computers to try what you’re doing. I like Charlie’s approach. That I understand and seems real to me, but I also realize is out of step with the times. I’ll process words on a computer, but numbers are my undoing. sigh
Marian Allen
April 7, 2021 at 10:26amNumbers are my undoing, too! I’m numerically dyslexic. Not a good quality in bookkeeping. Unfortunately, numbers have to be juggled, and computer spreadsheets’ formulas make that easy. But there is no wrong way to do what needs to be done. Just like writing, do whatever works for you. 🙂
Ally Bean
April 7, 2021 at 10:27amGood point. Will do.
circadianreflections
April 9, 2021 at 12:13pmI’ve always had our tax prep guy send me his organizer, and I’ve got my annual files set up based on that organizer. This year we’ve changed tax guys- yes we use a guy, anyway we changed to a local guy and I asked for his organizer and he said, ” I don’t use one just bring in all the papers you have we’ll go through them together and save time”. It was weird not having the organizer to fill out, but it was so much easier for me this year!!
I can get used to that! 😀
Marian Allen
April 9, 2021 at 2:31pmMom’s tax guy had something I guess was an organizer, but he filled out all the stuff that he knew repeated, and attached a list of the things he needed in order for him to fill out the rest of it. That really helped me when I was doing her taxes for her. It was nerve-wracking this year to work without that guidance or without Charlie taking my stuff and doing whatever he did with it.
circadianreflections
April 9, 2021 at 3:58pmI hope it gets easier for you going forward.